Briefly The Wire

Wednesday

Apr 21, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Rockies president dies in Salt Lake City hotel

DENVER — Colorado Rockies president Keli McGregor was found dead in his hotel room in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.

Detective Rick Wall said two of McGregor’s associates couldn’t get in touch with him and that someone entered his room at The Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City and found the 48-year-old McGregor unconscious Tuesday morning. Police were called about 9 a.m. MDT and emergency workers arrived on the scene and were unable to revive him.

“There are no signs of foul play. ... Based on the initial investigation (police and fire officials) did not see anything suspicious,” Wall said. The Rockies said McGregor was on a business trip with team chairman Charlie Monfort and executive VP Greg Feasel.

Recuperating Reds pitcher suspended for 50 games

CINCINNATI — Former All-Star pitcher Edinson Volquez was suspended 50 games Tuesday following a positive test for a banned fertility substance, a punishment that will cost him money but won’t hurt the Cincinnati Reds’ rotation.

The 26-year-old right-hander is recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery and isn’t expected to rejoin the Reds until late July at the earliest. He can serve the suspension from Major League Baseball while continuing his rehabilitation at the team’s spring training complex in Goodyear, Ariz.

Vikings-Saints rematch headlines 2010 schedule

NEW YORK — The Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints will get an early test when they host the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL season opener, a rematch of their thrilling NFC championship game decided in overtime.

That nationally televised game will be Thursday, Sept. 9. New Orleans won its first conference title by beating Minnesota 31-28 in overtime. The Saints went on to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in the Super Bowl.

The Saints also will play at Dallas on Thanksgiving.

Steelers deal for Leftwich with suspension pending

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers reacquired quarterback Byron Leftwich by dealing a seventh-round draft pick to Tampa Bay, a sign they expect Ben Roethlisberger to be suspended for the start of the season.

Leftwich backed up Roethlisberger in 2008, when the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Leftwich knows the system and could start Sept. 12 when Pittsburgh opens against Atlanta.

Pittsburgh already has third-year quarterback Dennis Dixon, out of Oregon, and backup Charlie Batch under contract.

NCAA statistical flaw alters graduation rates

A new study suggests that a statistical flaw relied upon by the NCAA means that graduation rates for major college football and men’s basketball players lag behind those of other students — not the other way around.

The NCAA’s most recent report on Division I graduation, known as the Graduation Success Rate, shows that athletes who entered college in 2002 graduated at a record rate of 79 percent. Even using the federal graduation rate, which does not account for transfer students, athletes posted a 64 percent graduation rate, a mark two points higher than in the general student body.

But a new report by the University of North Carolina’s College Sport Research Institute calls those numbers misleading. The NCAA data for non-athletes includes those who begin as full-time students but later become part-timers. As a group, those students take longer to graduate.

By definition, NCAA athletes cannot be part-time students.

— News service reports

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